Airport transfers to the French Alps

Everyone loves a short transfer time, however high altitude ski resorts can't be too close to airports or the flights would never land or take off due to snow and wind and the Alpine weather conditions! Thus if you want to higher altitude resorts with more reliable snow, your transfer will be longer to get to the best ski resorts (the closer a resort is to an airport, the lower the altitude and thus less reliable for good snow conditions). Chambery and Grenoble are our favourite airports with easy access and closest to the biggest ski resorts in France.

Some statistics from Google maps! On a clear day with normal traffic:

REBERTY 2000, THREE VALLEYS

TO CHAMBERY = 71 MILES / 114 kms/ 1 hr 30 mins  

TO GRENOBLE = 116 MILES / 186 kms / 2 hrs 12 mins

TO LYON = 119 MILES / 190 kms / 2 hrs 15 mins        

TO GENEVA =92 MILES / 147kms / 2hrs 26 mins

MONTCHAVIN LAPLAGNE, PARADISKI  

TO CHAMBERY= 71 MILES / 113 kms / 1 hr 22 mins

TO GRENOBLE= 116 MILES / 186 kms / 2 hrs 04 mins        

TO LYON = 119 MILES / 190 kms / 2 hrs 07 mins        

TO GENEVA =92 MILES / 147 kms / 2 hrs 17 mins

LA ROSIERE 1850, ESPACE SAN BERNARDO    

TO CHAMBERY= 82 MILES / 131kms / 1 hr 52 mins

TO GRENOBLE= 127 MILES / 204 kms / 2 hrs 35 mins        

TO LYON = 129 MILES / 207 kms / 2 hrs 34 mins        

TO GENEVA =102 MILES / 164 kms / 2 hrs 46 mins

1. Chambery airport is the closest and offers the best transfer times to highest and biggest resorts in France.
2. Chambery is just 1.5 hours to our chalets in Reberty 2000 just above Les Menuires in the Three Valleys ski area and our chalets in Montchavin La Plagne in the Paradiski ski area. The world’s two largest ski areas.
3. Grenoble and Lyon are another 40 mins further at 2.5 hours.
4. Geneva is an hour longer than Chambery and takes 2.5 hours.

Traffic conditions in winter:

1. Chambery – 50% of this shorter trip is on a motorway and there are 3 motorway services on the trip.
2. Grenoble – 70% of this trip is on a motorway and there are 5 motorway services on the trip.
3. Lyon - 70% of this trip is on a motorway and there are 5 motorway services on the trip.
4. Geneva has by far the most flight options and handles as almost many flights as the other three put together, therefore people traffic is more intense and subject to more delays. In addition, unless the longer distance route is taken via Chambery, only 30% of the journey is on a motorway. This means more traffic hold ups and when it snows, it's even worse. If the younger travellers don’t get travel sick, it’s all twists and turns and no motorway services.
5. All routes are chaotic on Saturdays in the festive season and throughout mid-February due to French holidays. Expect delays of up to 1 hour and sometimes more on your journey time.

Weather Conditions in winter:

1. We all get excited to see snow, especially en route to your chalet but it can add significantly to your journey time. There is nothing more exciting than getting into the snow zone on your arrival day.
2. Our vehicles have snow tyres, snow chains and drivers trained specifically to deal with the worst the Alps can throw at us. You can trust them to drive safely and appropriately with consideration and respect for our guests and the weather.
3. Our drivers are trained to fit snow chains in under a minute per wheel, safely and correctly.
4. Our drivers undertake winter driving prior to commencement of their season. You can ask to see their Training Manual. It's kept in the vehicle.

Airport check-in and arrivals:

1. Chambery is easy. If you're running late to catch a flight there’s one terminal, one entrance and check in is immediately through the door. If your transfer has been substantially delayed due to traffic, it's far easier here to catch up the time and make your flight.
2. Grenoble is very similar to Chambery, easy access, one terminal and the check in is immediately through the door.
3. Lyon is underrated. It's France’s second largest airport. Well organised and as you would expect.
4. Geneva – it's EasyJet’s European hub for ski flights. It's well organised normally but has a serious amount of travellers in and out on weekends. There is a border to cross once you’ve left the airport which is very good on most days but can have serious delays on a bad day. ‍
5. Geneva is popular because it's only 80 minutes to Morzine and the large (but low) ski area of Portes du Soleil. However, remember what we said at the start, the closer to an airport - the less reliable the snow and you’ll need to travel another half an hour to reach the same altitude as Three Valleys finest resorts.

So there it is, we hope Chambery and Grenoble grow now we are post BREXIT. They are easy to access, closest to the big French resorts and you don’t need to pay CHF20 for a Big Mac (the cheapest meal at Geneva if budget is of a concern)!

As `Cilla would have said on Blind Date….”THE CHOICE IS YOURS”.

Alpinium offer free airport transfers to ensure your holiday runs smoothly from the moment you step outside the airport. Conditions apply.

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